UFC 64 Preview
Alright, it's that time again. Pay Per View time. This one looks quite promising, at least as far as the title matches go. But, let's get right into it.
Kurt Pellegrino (8-2) VS Junior Assuncao (4-1)
Pellegrino made his UFC debut at UFC 61 against Drew Fickett and lost via choke. He's an accomplished wrestler and jujitsu fighter; he's qualified for Abu Dhabi 2007 and has held a few minor titles. He loves to use takedowns and work from the ground, finishing 6 fights by submission. Look for him to go to the ground early and often.
Assuncao is making his UFC debut. He's a jujitsu fighter with a capoeira background. He's still relatively new to MMA with only 5 fights under his belt but seems confident in himself. Conditioning could be an issue for the UFC newcomer, with none of his fights leaving the first round.
Justin James (11-5) VS Clay Guida (20-6)
On paper, this looks like a great matchup between two vets, though both are making their UFC debuts. Justin James is a well rounded fighter with great submissions; he loves to use armbars. Unfortunately, submissions are also his weakness. All 5 professional losses have come via tapout. Though I wouldn't call him a one-trick pony either. 2 submissions wins of his came via strikes and he also holds a knockout victory over Danny Jung.
Clay Guida is fighting with Team Hellhouse out of Chicago with a lot of other lightweights. He a great wrestler with decent standup. With 10 submission wins to his credit, he's certainly not to be discounted on the ground. This fight will be his sixth this year, which begs the question: What kind of shape is he going to be in? Hopefully he's ready for the big stage.
Kalib Starnes (7-0-1) VS Yushin Okami (17-3)
Canadian Kalib Starnes is a TUF veteran with wins over Danny Abaddi and Jason Macdonald (who just choked out Ed Herman on Tuesday). This will be his second match in the octagon and he hopes to continue his 7-fight win streak. Starnes trains with 1996 Canadian Olympic wrestler Colin Daynes and has trained at the Gracie Academy in California. Watch for Starnes to go for the submission victory early.
Okami is making his second UFC appearance after defeating Alan Belcher at UFC 62 back in August by unanimous decision. Okami was the 3-ranked Pancrase fighter for a time and was a 2003 Japanese qualifier for Abu Dhabi. Yushin is a training partner of UFC and PRIDE vet Caol Uno. Conditioning doesn't seem to be a problem for Okami, with many of his fights going the distance.
Keith Jardine (11-2-1) VS Mike Nickels (4-1)
Keith Jardine will be making his 4th appearance in the octagon, coming off a decision win against Wilson Gouveia at the TUF 3 finale. Jardine holds an octagon win over Miletich heavyweight (now light heavyweight) Mike Whitehead. A King of the Cage veteran, Jardine is an excellent striker, knocking out 3 opponents and stopping 2 more. He is a gaidojutsu black belt under Greg Jackson and teammate of Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. Look for Keith to try and bang out a decision over Nickels.
Mike Nickels is a big guy for a light heavyweight, standing 6' 4". Nickels made his official octagon debut at the TUF 3 finale, defeating Wes "The Soldier" Combs by rear naked choke in the first round. He also holds a submission win over TUF quitter Noah Inhofer. The Grappler's Quest gold medalist also holds a purple belt in Machado jiu-jitsu. Look for Nickels to try and sub Jardine early.
Spencer Fisher (18-2) VS Dan Lauzon (3-0)
Spencer Fisher is one of Miletich's top welterweights (behind Matt Hughes, of course). This will be Fisher's 6th fight in the octagon and his 5th fight this year. He holds wins over Thiago Alves, Matt Wiman, Josh "The Dentist" Neer and Aaron Riley. This should be a textbook Miletich game plan for Fisher. Lots of hard takedowns and strong-arm boxing. This is a bad matchup for Lauzon in his UFC debut.
Dan Lauzon is a submission fighter, will all professional fights being won by tapout to chokes. Not much is really known about Lauzon, but I don't think he stands much of a chance against the more experienced Fisher.
Cheick Kongo (9-2-1) VS Carmelo Marrero (5-0)
Kongo is pounding his way up the UFC heavyweight pecking order. Literally. He stopped Gilbert Aldana because he beat him up till the doctor's wouldn't let Aldana fight anymore, then he kneed Christian Wellisch until he was unconscious. Kongo is a deadly striker with 5 KOs to his credit. The guy has been training since he was 5 years old. Kongo is obviously going to try to continue his winning ways by knocking Marrero out.
Marrero is a relative MMA newcomer and drew the short straw for his UFC debut. He is a ground and pound artist with some submission skills to boot, but he make have a tough time taking the taller Kongo down. If he can, he just might have a chance.
Jon Fitch (11-2) VS Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-2)
Fitch is making his fourth UFC appearance, with 3 wins including an upset victory over TUF vet Josh Burkman. He's also defeated UFC vet Shonie Carter and is on a 10-fight win streak. He's an accomplished wrestler with a purple belt in jiujitsu under Dave Camarillo. Look for Fitch to take down and pound out. If it comes to a decision, Fitch's conditioning could carry him through that, as well.
Hironaka is making his UFC debut. The Shooto veteran holds victories over UFC vets Nick Diaz and Renato "Charuto" Verissimo and has also submitted Team Quest's Ryan "The Lion" Shultz. He's a very well-rounded fighter, with wins coming from many different avenues. His strengths seem to match up well with Fitch's. This should make for an interesting fight.
Sean Sherk (30-2-1) VS Kenny Florian (4-2) (Lightweight Title match)
Sean Sherk is an incredibly tough fighter, whose only loses are to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. He holds victories over Karo Parisyan (twice), Benji Radach, Jutaro Nakao and Nick Diaz. He's an excellent wrestler with great conditioning and he's wicked-strong to boot. You can pack a lot of muscle on when you're only 5' 9". Florian is going to be in for one hell of a ground match.
Kenny Florian is the UFC's lightweight poster boy. He's got victories over Kit Cope, Team Tompkins striker Sam Stout and TUF 1 vet Alex Karalexis. He's a Brazilian jiujitsu black belt with a laundry list of jiu-jitsu titles. But he's never faced anyone with as many wins as Sherk. Ken-Flo might be in trouble here.
MAIN EVENT
--------------
Alright, here's the one you've been waiting for. Now, I know a lot of people are wondering "How the hell does Anderson Silva get a title shot with only 1 win the octagon?" Well, Chris Leben was supposedly the number 1 contender to the middleweight crown and, like Rick Flair says, to be the man, you gotta beat the man. Anderson Silva did just that, knocking out Leben in a fairly quick fashion. Here goes.
Rich Franklin (20-1) VS Anderson Silva (16-4)
Rich is the middleweight champ for a reason. He's a damn good fighter. He's beaten journeyman Evan Tanner twice, he broke some bones beating up David Loiseau and he make Nate Quarry fall like a tree in the forest (only problem for Quarry was everyone was around to hear it). But, I think this is Rich's toughest title defense to date. It's certainly the most dangerous striker he's faced while in the middleweight throne. Franklin's strategy is simple; if Silva's getting the better of the striking, go to ground. Sound strategy, if you ask me.
Anderson Silva. Where do I start? He's a PRIDE vet with wins over Alexander Otsuka and Carlos Newton. But the rest of this Brazilian muay thai fighter's win record reads like a who's who of MMA. Jorge Rivera, Haytato Sakurai, Tony Fryklund, Jeremy Horn. The guy's pedigree is impressive. However, his ground game does seem to be the chink in the armour. Though, I don't know exactly how one would go about defending against a flying scissor heel hook (see PRIDE Shockwave 2005- Silva VS Chonan). He is, however, a BJJ black belt under Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.
Honestly, in my far-from-expert opinion, I think Rich Franklin is in serious trouble.
Kurt Pellegrino (8-2) VS Junior Assuncao (4-1)
Pellegrino made his UFC debut at UFC 61 against Drew Fickett and lost via choke. He's an accomplished wrestler and jujitsu fighter; he's qualified for Abu Dhabi 2007 and has held a few minor titles. He loves to use takedowns and work from the ground, finishing 6 fights by submission. Look for him to go to the ground early and often.
Assuncao is making his UFC debut. He's a jujitsu fighter with a capoeira background. He's still relatively new to MMA with only 5 fights under his belt but seems confident in himself. Conditioning could be an issue for the UFC newcomer, with none of his fights leaving the first round.
Justin James (11-5) VS Clay Guida (20-6)
On paper, this looks like a great matchup between two vets, though both are making their UFC debuts. Justin James is a well rounded fighter with great submissions; he loves to use armbars. Unfortunately, submissions are also his weakness. All 5 professional losses have come via tapout. Though I wouldn't call him a one-trick pony either. 2 submissions wins of his came via strikes and he also holds a knockout victory over Danny Jung.
Clay Guida is fighting with Team Hellhouse out of Chicago with a lot of other lightweights. He a great wrestler with decent standup. With 10 submission wins to his credit, he's certainly not to be discounted on the ground. This fight will be his sixth this year, which begs the question: What kind of shape is he going to be in? Hopefully he's ready for the big stage.
Kalib Starnes (7-0-1) VS Yushin Okami (17-3)
Canadian Kalib Starnes is a TUF veteran with wins over Danny Abaddi and Jason Macdonald (who just choked out Ed Herman on Tuesday). This will be his second match in the octagon and he hopes to continue his 7-fight win streak. Starnes trains with 1996 Canadian Olympic wrestler Colin Daynes and has trained at the Gracie Academy in California. Watch for Starnes to go for the submission victory early.
Okami is making his second UFC appearance after defeating Alan Belcher at UFC 62 back in August by unanimous decision. Okami was the 3-ranked Pancrase fighter for a time and was a 2003 Japanese qualifier for Abu Dhabi. Yushin is a training partner of UFC and PRIDE vet Caol Uno. Conditioning doesn't seem to be a problem for Okami, with many of his fights going the distance.
Keith Jardine (11-2-1) VS Mike Nickels (4-1)
Keith Jardine will be making his 4th appearance in the octagon, coming off a decision win against Wilson Gouveia at the TUF 3 finale. Jardine holds an octagon win over Miletich heavyweight (now light heavyweight) Mike Whitehead. A King of the Cage veteran, Jardine is an excellent striker, knocking out 3 opponents and stopping 2 more. He is a gaidojutsu black belt under Greg Jackson and teammate of Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. Look for Keith to try and bang out a decision over Nickels.
Mike Nickels is a big guy for a light heavyweight, standing 6' 4". Nickels made his official octagon debut at the TUF 3 finale, defeating Wes "The Soldier" Combs by rear naked choke in the first round. He also holds a submission win over TUF quitter Noah Inhofer. The Grappler's Quest gold medalist also holds a purple belt in Machado jiu-jitsu. Look for Nickels to try and sub Jardine early.
Spencer Fisher (18-2) VS Dan Lauzon (3-0)
Spencer Fisher is one of Miletich's top welterweights (behind Matt Hughes, of course). This will be Fisher's 6th fight in the octagon and his 5th fight this year. He holds wins over Thiago Alves, Matt Wiman, Josh "The Dentist" Neer and Aaron Riley. This should be a textbook Miletich game plan for Fisher. Lots of hard takedowns and strong-arm boxing. This is a bad matchup for Lauzon in his UFC debut.
Dan Lauzon is a submission fighter, will all professional fights being won by tapout to chokes. Not much is really known about Lauzon, but I don't think he stands much of a chance against the more experienced Fisher.
Cheick Kongo (9-2-1) VS Carmelo Marrero (5-0)
Kongo is pounding his way up the UFC heavyweight pecking order. Literally. He stopped Gilbert Aldana because he beat him up till the doctor's wouldn't let Aldana fight anymore, then he kneed Christian Wellisch until he was unconscious. Kongo is a deadly striker with 5 KOs to his credit. The guy has been training since he was 5 years old. Kongo is obviously going to try to continue his winning ways by knocking Marrero out.
Marrero is a relative MMA newcomer and drew the short straw for his UFC debut. He is a ground and pound artist with some submission skills to boot, but he make have a tough time taking the taller Kongo down. If he can, he just might have a chance.
Jon Fitch (11-2) VS Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-2)
Fitch is making his fourth UFC appearance, with 3 wins including an upset victory over TUF vet Josh Burkman. He's also defeated UFC vet Shonie Carter and is on a 10-fight win streak. He's an accomplished wrestler with a purple belt in jiujitsu under Dave Camarillo. Look for Fitch to take down and pound out. If it comes to a decision, Fitch's conditioning could carry him through that, as well.
Hironaka is making his UFC debut. The Shooto veteran holds victories over UFC vets Nick Diaz and Renato "Charuto" Verissimo and has also submitted Team Quest's Ryan "The Lion" Shultz. He's a very well-rounded fighter, with wins coming from many different avenues. His strengths seem to match up well with Fitch's. This should make for an interesting fight.
Sean Sherk (30-2-1) VS Kenny Florian (4-2) (Lightweight Title match)
Sean Sherk is an incredibly tough fighter, whose only loses are to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. He holds victories over Karo Parisyan (twice), Benji Radach, Jutaro Nakao and Nick Diaz. He's an excellent wrestler with great conditioning and he's wicked-strong to boot. You can pack a lot of muscle on when you're only 5' 9". Florian is going to be in for one hell of a ground match.
Kenny Florian is the UFC's lightweight poster boy. He's got victories over Kit Cope, Team Tompkins striker Sam Stout and TUF 1 vet Alex Karalexis. He's a Brazilian jiujitsu black belt with a laundry list of jiu-jitsu titles. But he's never faced anyone with as many wins as Sherk. Ken-Flo might be in trouble here.
MAIN EVENT
--------------
Alright, here's the one you've been waiting for. Now, I know a lot of people are wondering "How the hell does Anderson Silva get a title shot with only 1 win the octagon?" Well, Chris Leben was supposedly the number 1 contender to the middleweight crown and, like Rick Flair says, to be the man, you gotta beat the man. Anderson Silva did just that, knocking out Leben in a fairly quick fashion. Here goes.
Rich Franklin (20-1) VS Anderson Silva (16-4)
Rich is the middleweight champ for a reason. He's a damn good fighter. He's beaten journeyman Evan Tanner twice, he broke some bones beating up David Loiseau and he make Nate Quarry fall like a tree in the forest (only problem for Quarry was everyone was around to hear it). But, I think this is Rich's toughest title defense to date. It's certainly the most dangerous striker he's faced while in the middleweight throne. Franklin's strategy is simple; if Silva's getting the better of the striking, go to ground. Sound strategy, if you ask me.
Anderson Silva. Where do I start? He's a PRIDE vet with wins over Alexander Otsuka and Carlos Newton. But the rest of this Brazilian muay thai fighter's win record reads like a who's who of MMA. Jorge Rivera, Haytato Sakurai, Tony Fryklund, Jeremy Horn. The guy's pedigree is impressive. However, his ground game does seem to be the chink in the armour. Though, I don't know exactly how one would go about defending against a flying scissor heel hook (see PRIDE Shockwave 2005- Silva VS Chonan). He is, however, a BJJ black belt under Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.
Honestly, in my far-from-expert opinion, I think Rich Franklin is in serious trouble.
posted by Commander X at 9:34 PM
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